Steering Vibration

[greatride]

I posted this earlier today and received a reply from Fleiscd (thx) - I thought I would also ask the same question of SteveTheTech. Should I phone and get the issue on record or book the car in for a service after less than 2 weeks? I am a new owner of a 2008 EX35 in Calgary - I just bought the 'used' vehicle with only 5400 kms on it. The explanation they provided at the dealership was the previous owners wanted to move up to a larger FX35. I had been doing a lot of research in the past year to determine what my next vehicle would be and decided the EX35 was the one for me. I have been experiencing the rinding/vibrating noise with my EX as well, since day 1. Like others have explained, I only feel it when making right turns. I haven't noticed it with left turns. It happens whether the vehicle has just been started or whether I have been driving it for 30 minutes.

I took the vehicle back to the dealership and had a technician take it for a drive. He acknowledged the problem and said that it was a known problem with the Rack and Pinion steering. He said that he could order 'a Rack' if I wanted to, but that it was OK to drive the car in the meantime.

My question is - should I just report this to the dealer for now, and wait for the warranty fix? Is the fix under warranty? Do I need to do anything specific (i.e. document the event) now so that I have something in writing? Note that with 'previously owned vehicles', you apparently have 2 weeks to report any issues, and if you want you can return the car and trade it for something else. My 2-week period is up tomorrow. The problem is that there are no other 2008 EX35s anywhere in Canada. I really like the car otherwise.

[SteveTheTech]

I took the vehicle back to the dealership and had a technician take it for a drive. He acknowledged the problem and said that it was a known problem with the Rack and Pinion steering. He said that he could order 'a Rack' if I wanted to, but that it was OK to drive the car in the meantime.

If you took it to the dealer to ride with the tech, did they generate a repair order? If so it should be in the system already. However, Infiniti Canada may operate slightly differently.

My question is - should I just report this to the dealer for now, and wait for the warranty fix? Is the fix under warranty? Do I need to do anything specific (i.e. document the event) now so that I have something in writing? Note that with 'previously owned vehicles', you apparently have 2 weeks to report any issues, and if you want you can return the car and trade it for something else. My 2-week period is up tomorrow. The problem is that there are no other 2008 EX35s anywhere in Canada. I really like the car otherwise.

If a slight noise (which is basically what this amounts to) will make you want out of the car then maybe you may want to swap out for something else. If all the other features on your car work as expected I would enjoy it with the slight annoyance until the repair is available. Documentation is always a good idea in situations like this for both parties. If the previous owner complained of this they should have it already it on file. Sounds like a good reason to go talk to someone in person.

[dividedhighw]

Welcome to NICO from a fellow Canuck, greatride!!

To be safe, you should insist they document it and make sure you get a copy of it. You could also ask them to extend your "trial" period.

HTH,David

[greatride]

Thanks for your advice.

Although the tech did take it for a ride and acknowledge the issue, they did not generate a repair order. Since it is still under warranty I have assumed that I will be covered. However, based on what I am hearing, I believe I will phone down to the dealership to make sure that the issue is documented.

I can live with the vibration as long as it is not causing any longer term problems and I know it is going to be fixed - hopefully through a Technical Service Bulletin. I love the car otherwise and plan on driving it for many years to come!

[sw33tbabieegurl]

I also have the same problem with my EX 35 and have been taking it to the dealership a few times already and they've had no luck. The first time they changed the wheel bearing but on the left side when the noise is clearly on the right. But that didn't help. The next time I took it in they just said it was brake dust. So I recently took it in again and test drove the car with the shop foreman, no luck in hearing the noise. I asked to leave the car with them for a week so they can test drive it and finally the tech heard it once and wasn't able to duplicate it after that. They are now doing some research on it and hopefully are able to fix this problem. If not they said to bring it back when it worsens so that they can duplicate it. I hope they can fix the problem now. I guess if enough ppl complain to their dealership then Infiniti will investigate this problem because my dealership in Monrovia, CA said that they called Infiniti Tech support and they haven't heard of anybody complaining about this problem. So please tell your dealership to call the tech support since Monrovia, CA Infiniti has been able to hear this noise already.

[dividedhighw]

Welcome to NICO, sw33tbabieegurl!!

If you have another dealer available, you might want to try them instead. It sounds like Monrovia Infiniti isn't appropriately "tapped in"!

Cheers,David

[rontek]

Steve,

Just curious, but where are you getting your information from? I am asking because I can reproduce the problem, but before I take it to my dealership service folks, I want to be sure they can get the same information and status that you are able to. Should this be the case?

[SteveTheTech]

I never experienced this issue on my '05 G35x which has the same AWD system.

For some reason the G35x have no complaints (from what I have seen, both here and in RL) of this noise on right turns.

Just curious, but where are you getting your information from?

I've been part of the Nico community for a fairly short period of time but I've been working of Infinitis for several years. I am not surprised when I see people posting that their local dealer has not heard about the noise described here. There are many legitimate reasons for this. -Low number of in service units-Poor dealer to dealer communication on concerns like this, until they make it to Consumer Affairs -The fact that several parameters need to be met to get this to act up. (It needs to be a <400* right turn, going >~12mph and ideally on in negative grade) makes diagnosis a little tricky and the description of the noise is generally vague when seen on a repair order. It usually gets to the tech as

Customer states grinding noise on right turns

Sadly that's a little to vague for many of the best techs in the field. Unless the tech/shop (depending on the information sharing that goes on within the shop) has experienced this before the results may vary. In the trenches we are the last ones to hear of things like this until they come across it first hand, or there is a new recall.

Recently I spent some time showing my local corporate representative the benefits of a well structured forum to hear from the actual owners and what they are experiencing. So hopefully in the near future issues like this will be addressed in a more timely fashion, and you as an owner will feel like your voice is being heard. I have been trying to tell them that this noise in the EX and some of the complaints in the M series could have been addressed a long time ago instead of them just now hearing about it once enough people complain to CA. Change takes time.

[rontek]

I first noticed the issue, and was able to re-produce it daily, when I left the parking garage at work. (All right turns going down when exiting). Because it really did not take a very "tight" right turm to make the noise happen, I began to get curious why I did not notice it more often during normal driving. For the last few days I have begun to let my car "warm-up completly" before driving off. (Letting the idle drop all the way down to normal idle speed), and to my surprise, I no longer experience the symproms when exiting the garage. The outside temperature here has not changed much, so I can not attribute the change to that. Can anyone else confirm my experience? Just curious.

Thanks,

Ron

[dividedhighw]

Hey Ron,

It takes me about 25 mins to drive home from work and the last right turn into my neighbourhood always causes the vibration, so on mine at least, I don't think it's related to temperature.

HTH,David

[rontek]

I think I agree. I tried my "warm-up" routine before leaving the garage today, and the n oise was back. Very strange though. Yesterday , nothing, today, back again. Oh well.

Ron

[kamiguy]

Talked to my service manager today about this issue and he said yes, they have heard back from Infiniti and it is a steering rack that needs to be replaced. I mentioned that others have had their's replaced and the problem persisted and he replied that the new ones have been "recalibrated". Some have been replaced here in Canada with no repeat issues. Since it will be another month or so when I go for my service(2 hours away) I can't speak personally if this is the final cure. Check with your dealers, people, and see if they have received the word yet.

[Bmore]

I just noticed that I have this problem as well, after about two weeks of ownership. I parked behind my building instead of in front of my building, and that required two right turns and lo and behold the vibration. I'll mention this to my dealer and maybe print out this thread so they can see more about the issue that seems somewhat prevalent.

[greatride]

The issue is not related to temperature for my vehicle. I drive to work in the mornings, and the car is warm, even if the temperature is not (-10C for instance last week). When leaving the Parking garage, the vibration/grinding is there again - the car is not warmed up yet, but the garage is +20C.

When I spoke to the technician who took my car for a drive around the parking lot las week, he mentioned that it was likely the steering rack as well. He said I could drive it in the meantime, as it wouldn't hurt the car, and I could have them look at it in more detail when I need my next oil change.

I did end up sending in an e-mail to the Dealership outlining the issue, the technician's finding, and the dates, so it is on record now.

[Bmore]

Here's what my dealer (Service Mgr) said when I emailed them with the link to this thread and that my car was doing this too:

"Good Afternoon! Yes, I am aware of this issue and it is currently under investigation by Infiniti. We have been assured that the issue is not a safety concern and that once there is a repair, a TSB will be issued."

[markmadsen]

I to am having the same exact problem. I own a 2007 M35x and I have my second service appointment on this matter this coming Monday. I will point them to this thread and hopefully I will get positive results.

Thanks,

[SteveTheTech]

Still no new news yet regarding this subject. I think they are now building up ample supply of units to meet the demand that will ensue once word gets out. Hang tight though it's coming soon.

I to am having the same exact problem. I own a 2007 M35x and I have my second service appointment on this matter this coming Monday. I will point them to this thread and hopefully I will get positive results.

Welcome to Nico, glad to see more DC area members here From what I've seen there are very few 07Ms that experience this, however regardless of what dealer you go to they should have heard of it by now (although some of the dealers in this area have mixed reviews). Good Luck,

[markmadsen]

I just met with a service consultant from Infiniti of Tysons Corner in Mclean Virginia where they have definitely heard of the problem. While we talking, another service consultant commented that he has replaced two racks but to no avail.

They commented that Infiniti was working on a solution to the problem - the even indicated something was being tested.

A third service person, whom I believe is a manager, then commented from a distance, where he was listening to our conversation, that a "revised rack" was due in 2 weeks.

It was comforting to know that they all knew of the problem and were keenly interested in seeing it resolved.

I plan on checking with them in about 4 weeks time.

Mark

[dividedhighw]

Yesterday I got my car into service and had the steering rack replaced with a "revised" one that's supposed to address this problem. So far, no noise/vibration so I'm guardedly optimistic!!

FWIW, the part number on my invoice says: 49001-1BA1B

Cheers,David

[Bmore]

Can you report in every week and let us know if the noise/vibration has returned? If it hasn't in a few weeks time, I think I'll take that part number to my dealer and see if they'll do it. Did they say this is the official Infiniti fix for this issue or were they just trying it out without knowledge that Infiniti was researching this themselves and trying to develop a resolution?

[dividedhighw]

this is the official Infiniti fix for this issue ?

Yes, it is - at least that's what I've been told. No TSB number was mentioned so if anyone has that, it'd be great if you could post it.

Can you report in every week and let us know if the noise/vibration has returned?

Well, I'm NICO's EX moderator so no doubt, you'll get updates!

Cheers,David

[kamiguy]

Getting mine replaced Monday. Will keep you all posted

[SteveTheTech]

I'm wondering if you Canucks are getting something we are not here. I spoke with a friend inside the company and he knows of only a small number of units on our area that are being tested and released. Monday (or tomorrow if I get curious) I will look into the availability of this PN. Although I bet that in order to order this (at least in the states) part you will need authorization from the regional manager (not uncommon).

Infiniti is holding to their early summer release for the mass market (TSB). To prevent a serious backorder (as with other broad TSBs) causing aggravation for both owners and dealers. Whenever something like this comes out the demand exceeds the supply usually within a day or two, and the part ends up on backorder for a few weeks. Yep weeks. Infnintis parts structure is unnecessarily complex in some ways and they do things that seem counter intuitive sometimes, this seems like a good example of a step in the right direction though.

[fleiscd]

Brought my EX into the dealer today for Service. I gave them the Part Number of the "new rack" in the previous post but they couldn't find it and have no information about it.

They gave me an EX as a loaner while mine was in for service. They told me they had done no services to the loaner EX I was given and asked me to let them know if I was experiencing the same problems with it that I see with my EX.

I noticed the following.

A) The loaner EX makes the fuel pump noise at start-up. However, it is more responsive when I give it gas. It doesn't have a slight hesitation that my EX has with the replaced fuel pump (I already posted this information in the appropriate thread on the forum, putting it here for informational purposes).

B) The loaner EX has the steering vibration problem too. However, the steering is MUCH MUCH tighter then my EX's steering. I had the steering rack replaced on my EX (see my previous posts in this thread) in an attempt to resolve the steering vibration, which didn't work (obviously ). After it was replaced I noticed the steering felt "softer"...but wasn't really sure. Now after driving this loaner EX I can really feel the difference. The steering difference is night and day compared to my EX (FYI - The loaner EX has about double the miles of my EX...so I doubt it has better tires ).

I called the dealer and gave them this information and they are "looking into it".

I'll post any new info I get from the dealer after I pickup my EX.

[kamiguy]

Had mine replaced with the same P/N as mentioned by dividedhighw and so far so good! Will keep you informed.

[fleiscd]

Just got back from my dealer. They opened a case for it and they'll call me when they have more information. The don't see anything under that part number and are "investigating" for me.

[SteveTheTech]

Just got back from my dealer. They opened a case for it and they'll call me when they have more information. The don't see anything under that part number and are "investigating" for me.

This just illustrates what I had stated earlier. The new part is not readily available yet. Once the bulletin is out then the supply will be sufficient.

[dividedhighw]

Can you report in every week and let us know if the noise/vibration has returned?

Update - having driven it daily Apr 30/09 through May 8/09, I can report that the vibration is virtually gone. I qualified it because on two separate occasions, I felt the vibration for less than a second, then it vanished. It's not perfect, but I can live with it (assuming it doesn't worsen).

HTH,David

[kamiguy]

Been almost a week now since replaced and the vibration is gone I used to experience it several times a day.

[rontek]

Took my EX in for my 12 month 15,000 mile service today and told my dealer about the right turn vibration. Did not mention anything about the forum posts or that I had heard about any known issue. When I picked up my car they acknowledged it was a known issue, and said they had ordered the replacement rack for this issue specifically.However as Steve the Tech suggested, it is on backorder, but should hopefully be in next week some time. At least it appears that the issue has been acknowledged and is being addressed.

Ron

FYI,

I put the part number referenced in the previous post into infiniti-parts.com and this is what it lists. Whats interesting is that one of the descriptions (Collision Parts), it refers to 18" wheels specifically.

Mechanical Catalog Item Number Core Price Price 490011BA1B $0.00 $980.11 Steering - Steering gear & linkage - Steering gear Steering gear, ex35, awd, journey model - power 2008 Collision Catalog Item Number Core Price Price 490011BA1B $0.00 $980.11 Steering gear and linkage - Steering gear and linkage - Gear assy - W/18 wheels W/18 wheels - 4wd 2008

OEM Catalog Item Number Core Price Price 490011BA1B $0.00 $980.11

GEAR & LINKAGE-
Modified by rontek at 4:21 PM 5/19/2009